Volume LXXV, Number 34
www.towntopics.com
Princeton University Construction Projects “Transform” Campus
D&R Greenway Farm Preserve Welcomes Cows To Climate Effort . . . . . . 5 Nassau Inn Comes to The Rescue for Orthodox Student Group . . . . . . . . 7 Council Delays Return to In-Person Meetings . . . 10 Reading Camus in Afghanistan . . . . . . . . . 15 PU Grad Student Snyder Competing in Tokyo Paralympics Triathlon . . . . . . . . . 29 PDS Alum Alu Moving Up the Ladder in the Washington Nationals Organization . . . . . . 30
Lucy Rickerson and PU Women’s Soccer Kicking Off Fall Season . . . . . 27 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .20, 21 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 19 Classified Ads . . . . . . 33 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 14 New to Us . . . . . . . . . . 13 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 31 Performing Arts . . . . . 16 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 12 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 33 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
There have been periods during the past 18 months of the pandemic when the Princeton University campus — from the spires of the graduate college through the central campus to the edges of Harrison Street and the banks of Lake Carnegie — has seemed unusually quiet. But the University has been anything but dormant. Moving ahead on its 2026 Campus Plan, developed and initiated over the past five years with “the most ambitious and comprehensive planning process” in its history, Princeton University has been progressing rapidly on its “transformative journey” towards its “mission-centered vision for the campus.” Last week’s special Princeton University Weekly Bulletin noted “tremendous progress campus-wide,” with several projects completed over the last 18 months, much new construction underway on campus, and construction that will be starting in the coming months. The University declined to discuss costs of its massive array of construction projects. Most striking so far, under the heading of “Renewal of Central Campus,” are the new residential colleges 7 and 8, slated for completion in the summer of 2022, and the new Princeton University Art Museum, scheduled to open in the fall of 2024. The residential colleges, under construction during the past year adjacent to each other in the southeastern portion of the central campus south of Poe Field, are built to each potentially house an additional 500 undergraduates and to advance “one of Princeton’s highest strategic priorities” — expanding the undergraduate population by about 10 percent. For more than 32 years, Princeton has housed all freshmen and sophomores in residential colleges, of which there are now six, soon to be eight. The new Art Museum, with construction underway this summer, will roughly double its current space, and will also encompass the Department of Art and Archaeology and Marquand Library. The Weekly Bulletin states that “the new buildings will enable the Museum to better utilize and grow its existing collections, mount exhibitions, offer a new range of social spaces, and enhance the ties that link the Museum to its nearest academic partners and other key Continued on Page 10
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Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Restrictions Return Along With COVID Spread At his first press conference in two weeks, on Monday, August 23, just hours after the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced that all school personnel, public and private, from preschool through high school, must be fully vaccinated by October 18 or be subjected to weekly testing. The rule also applies to state employees and faculty and staff at state colleges and universities. Murphy expressed hope that the FDA approval would encourage people to get vaccinated who had previously been holding off. The Princeton Health Department reported Monday a total of 14 new COVID-19 cases in the previous seven days and 31 cases in the previous 14 days. Out of Princeton residents age 12 and over, 78 percent have been vaccinated (96 percent of residents 65 and over). Since July 7 the health department has reported 57 cases of COVID-19 in Princeton, 39 (68.4 percent) of which have been breakthrough cases. Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser, in a memo last week to the town administrator, urged that the return to in-person local government meetings, originally planned for mid-September, be delayed until further notice due to the spread of
the Delta variant and rising infection rates. In the August 23 Princeton Newsletter, the health department stated, “COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. are highly effective, including against the Delta variant, but they are not 100 percent effective and some fully vaccinated people will become infected (called a breakthrough infection) and experience illness. For such people, the vaccine still provides them strong protection against serious illness and death. Infections happen in only a small propor-
tion of people who are fully vaccinated, even with the Delta variant. However, fully vaccinated people who become infected with the Delta variant can spread the virus to others.” The Princeton Health Department has announced that, starting September 20, it will begin to offer booster doses to individuals who have had the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for at least eight months. The Princeton Health Department expects to Continued on Page 8
240th Anniversary of Rochambeau-Washington Victory March To Be Celebrated on August 28 In August of 1781 thousands of troops under General George Washington and the allied French General Comte de Rochambeau marched through Princeton via Mount Lucas Road, Witherspoon Street, and Nassau Street, with about 5,000 soldiers camping on the grounds at Morven House on their way to help the Continental Army win its final major victory in the Revolutionary War in October at Yorktown, Virginia. The 700-mile march will be commemorated this Saturday, August 28 along the Millstone River in Griggstown, with Canal Road in Franklin Township closed from Amwell Road to Route 518 from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. to encourage walking and biking on the narrow thoroughfare. (A half-mile section between Butler Road and the Griggstown Causeway will remain open to permit east-west traffic to cross the Millstone River.) “Come ready to walk or bike on this historic and scenic roadway,” said Brad Fay, president of the Millstone Valley Preservation Coalition (MVPC), co-sponsor of the event along with Franklin Township. “It’s a rare opportunity to enjoy the scenic byway without fearing for the through traffic.” Troops crossed the Millstone River twice, at the one-lane Griggstown Continued on Page 12
MORVEN IN BLOOM: Visitors can enjoy Morven Museum & Garden on Stockton Street Wednesday through Sunday via timed admission tickets . An evening Bugs and Butterflies Walk in the gardens is scheduled for September 1 . Visit morven .org for more information . (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)